Fading Dream
by BrokenChosenofEva
Summary: Fading Dream arc for Pilot's Table series. The Chosen awaken from the Dream of Instrumentality. (Complete)
1. Chapter 1

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**

_Pilot's Table_

By D.A.

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Title: Dreams

Prompt: Set 1 / Prompt 23 (Wish)

Word Count: 1000+

Rating: k+

Summary: Hikari asks a seemly simple question, and everything starts anew.

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or anything connected to it.

Notes: This one is so AU, I'm not even sure where to start. It's also the first one I'm perfectly happy with, unlike the last two. Probably won't do much editing to this one when I go back through.

_Written while listening to Meteor Show by Owl City_

A/N(2013-4-26): Not much changed, mainly just reposting it here.

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"-what would you wish for?"

"Huh?" Shinji said, and winced. _Eloquent as ever, Shinji. On top of not listening._

"You heard me," Hikari gently elbowed him, smiling with amusement and something else in her eyes, "If you could have any wish, what would you wish for?"

"I-I'm not sure…What-what would you wish for Hikari?" he stammered, hoping to gain some time to think of an honest, and acceptable, response.

Hikari hummed, a single non-committal noise, and looked across the school courtyard. Shinji followed her gaze through the glowing noonday atmosphere to where Kensuke was busy with his ever present camcorder, taping everything Touji and Asuka were doing while everyone was eating lunch. It sometimes amazed him how much Kensuke used that thing. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if his friend became a photo-journalist or something similar.

"I guess…" Hikari mused, smiling with her gaze elsewhere, "I guess I'd wish for my friends to be happy."

Shinji returned her smile, thinking her answer was so like her. The responsible, caring friend. Shinji never wanted her to change, and knew their friends all thought the same in that regard. After a moment, she nudged him, arching an eyebrow. Shinji directed his gaze to his feet stretched out in front of him, as he searched for an answer.

"I-I guess… I'd want the same thing. I'd want them safe and happy, with anything that could hurt them far away and long gone…" he paused, his gaze flicked farther from Hikari's face as he continued in a quieter tone, "Even if it cost me everything I have, everything I am… I'd make sure my friends are safe and happy…"

He jumped as Hikari lightly laid her fingers on his arm, squeezing gently. Turning his gaze back to Hikari's face, he found her smiling a sad, knowing smile.

"I know you would. I'm glad we got this time," she nodded in the direction of Asuka and Touji, "That they got this time. I wish it was longer."

The world around them faded but for Touji and Asuka, who walked over to them through the now featureless orange reality.

"This is where it ends." Asuka said, hand in hand with Touji, both their knuckles white, "The dream's run its course, even if we don't want it to stop."

"We have to wake up sometime," Touji nodded to Shinji, "I'm glad we got to dream at all buddy."

Rei appearred suddenly, a beautiful young adult with waist-length lavender-blue hair and shining crimson eyes smiling at each of them, and they knew without being told it was Lilith they were seeing.

"I held it as long as my powers would allow. Now the dream fades, and the world comes back from the edge." the woman said as she turned to Shinji, "Reality will be remade by your choices here, dear Shinji."

"Whatever you choose, Shinji, I'll still be here." Hikari said from beside him, her voice firm.

"And so will we." Asuka affirmed, backed by a confident nod from Touji.

Shinji closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, recalling everything he'd done with his friends. Recalling the wish he had just told Hikari.

"Will they still be there?" he asked, and opened his eyes to find only Lilith standing there. Suddenly, a young woman with short brown hair and glistening green eyes faded into view, and he gasped. His mother. Running to her, he threw his arms around her as she hugged him back.

"Do you want them there, sweetie?" she asked quietly, smiling through the tears in her eyes.

"Of course I do!" he cried, happy to have his mother, even though he knew he'd soon lose her again when Third Impact faded, "But I want you there too!"

"I know sweetie, and I wish I could." she turned his face to her, still smiling, "But I paid that price so you could be happy. So you wouldn't have to give up everything to make sure your friends are happy and safe."

"But I won't be happy if you aren't there!"

"As long as you live, you can be happy. Weren't you happy with Hikari and the others, even here in a dream?" Yui stood up, her hands on his shoulders, "They'll be waiting for you, when you wake up."

"Are you sure you can't come?" he asked, wiping the tears from his eyes, and she smiled sadly.

"I'm sure, love. But I'll always be there in your heart." Yui began to fade and Lilith return, along with his friends,_ "Remember: As long as you keep living, anywhere can be heaven."_

Shinji turned to Hikari and his friends. His family. Warmth filled him when he thought that, and he smiled for them. They returned the smile with their own, and Hikari walked over to him. She took his hand in her own, both of them blushing, and Shinji turned to Lilith.

"I've made my choice."

"From the shattered remains of the old, a shining new is raised." Lilith said, and Rei appeared beside her.

"From the choices of the Broken Chosen, new paths spread out to the future." Rei continued.

"Ready everyone?" Shinji asked, as the orange reality began to slowly fade away.

"Always, dude."

"Like you could stop me."

"I am, Shinji. I'm here."

Rei and Lilith shared a smile, before Lilith gestured Rei to join the group. Her eyes widened in surprise and Rei turned to Shinji and the others to find them smiling, his and Hikari's arms open to her. As she ran to them, tears in her eyes, the orange light faded completely when she reached them and she missed Lilith's last whispered words.

"And though light has not yet touched the new roads, the hope of the Broken Chosen leads them on to a shining new future. I love you, my daughter."

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A/N: This is part one of three in what I'm calling the "Fading Dream" Arc. While the three are somewhat redundant, I don't want to combine them into a single chapter either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**

_Pilot's Table_

By D.A.

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Title: Chance  
Prompt: Set 1 / Prompt 17 (Think)  
Word Count: 1100+  
Rating: T  
Summary: A thought, a wish, a second chance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or anything connected to it.

Notes: alternate PoV for the events of "Dreams". Part two of the "Fading Dream" Arc.

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I think… I think I'd like to try again. To make thing better than they ended up being.

Because…

I screwed up.

Completely and totally f_ed up. I f_ed up my relationships every other time I turned around. I f_ed up my Piloting record, my Eva, and pretty much ever single life I ever came in contact with.

I want it back! Give me another chance! I won't let it end like this! Not with a whimper, not with me dead at the end point of all my bad decisions!

I'll CHANGE!

Just… let me try… I just want another chance. Is that too much to ask? One more F_ING TRY!

…please…

…

Oh great… the f_ing tunnel of light back to reality. So f_ing clichéd it isn't even FUNNY!

000

IT HURTS! Oh SHEISSE, it HURTS! Stop it PLEASE! THEY'RE EATING ME! Not again! NOT AGAIN!

"TOUJI!"

000

"Oooohh" Damn bed… and the same f_ing ceiling…

"Asuka?" I hurt all over… give me a minute…

"Wh…what…" I need a drink…

"Glad you're awake again…" Touji?

"Water…" Now, before I decide to hit you…

My arm hurts…

"Here ya go…" Ah, sweet water, and a full glass of it too.

"What happened?" cause I don't remember past the… yeah, let's no go there for a while

"We killed the Eva series, and got ya out of Unit Two. Kaworu took you to Nerv Medical while I and Shinji cleaned up the friggin harpies…" And you're still pissed at them? Wow…

"Butchered'em good for me?" lots of little pieces too. I NEVER want to see one again. EVER.

"Real good… the ground crews still haven't found all the pieces." Well, they must be working real slo-

"How long have I been out?" because Nerv is real good about cleaning up our splashy fights.

"Nearly a week… Akagi wasn't sure you'd wake up again." Thanks for worrying…

"Am I gonna be alright…?" please let me be ok… I don't care about my Eva, just let me ok…

"Yeah. Akagi just wasn't sure you'd wake up after the… the 'neural feed-back' from what, uh, what happened to the Eva…" oh… but I'm ok.

"Touji…" I wanna go home…

"Yeah?"

"I wanna go home."

"Ok." wipe that grin off your face, buster.

000

It was a few weeks later that Asuka noticed something was off… and that it was focused on Shinji and the Class Rep.

They were all outside the school for lunch, Shinji and Hikari off under the Favorite Tree, and Kensuke hovering nearby trying to catch her and Touji doing something romantic or violent. Kensuke didn't seem to care, really, beyond the fact that he had gotten bored recording Shinji and Hikari. Not that she could blame him, the two seemed liked the model high-school couple.

She glanced in the other couple's direction, and was surprised at being able to hear them perfectly, and at having two or three sets of memories suddenly snap into crystal clear focus.

"I-I guess… I'd want the same thing. I'd want them safe and happy, with anything that could hurt them far away and long gone…" Shinji paused, then continued in a quieter tone, "Even if it cost me everything I have, everything I am… I'd make sure my friends are safe and happy…"

Asuka smiled. That was Shinji. That was also Touji, though he put up more of a gruff front. Both would do everything they could and more to save the ones they cared about. And truth be told, so would she.

"I know you would. I'm glad we got this time," Hikari said, and nodded in the direction of Asuka and Touji, "That they got this time. I wish it was longer."

The world around them faded but for the four of them, and Asuka and Touji walked over to them through the now featureless orange reality, heads awhirl with suddenly clear memories. So many memories that they weren't sure they could keep them straight.

"This is where it ends." Asuka said, hand in hand with Touji. As the realization dawned that she knew what had been happening, and that would soon be over and gone, her grip tightened on Touji's hand and he returned the pressure, "The dream's run its course, even if we don't want it to stop."

"We have to wake up sometime," Touji nodded to Shinji, and Asuka could feel the regret in his voice, "I'm glad we got to dream at all buddy."

Rei appeared suddenly, a beautiful young adult with waist-length lavender-blue hair and shining crimson eyes smiling at each of them, and Asuka knew, without being told, that it was Lilith. And how she both hate her for ending it, and loved her for letting it happen.

"I held it as long as my powers would allow. Now the dream fades, and the world comes back from the edge." the woman said as she turned to Shinji, "Reality will be remade by your choices here, dear Shinji."

"Whatever you choose, Shinji, I'll still be here." Hikari said from beside him.

"And so will we." Asuka affirmed, backed by a confident nod from Touji. She had already been trusting him, she realized, without even knowing it. Trusted him for so long, as had the other two, that it was the most natural thing to her.

Shinji closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. When he reopened his eye, there were unshed tears in them, and Asuka could have sworn she heard the faint echo of a woman's voice.

"_Remember: As long as you keep living, anywhere can be heaven_."

Shinji turned to them and smiled, and they returned the smile with their own, and Asuka could feel the faint sting of unshed tears in her eyes. Hikari walked over to him and took his hand in her own, both of them blushing.

Shinji turned to Lilith with Asuka and Touji standing firm behind him and Hikari at his side.

"I've made my choice."

"From the shattered remains of the old, a shining new is raised." Lilith said, and Rei appeared beside her.

"From the choices of the Broken Chosen, new paths spread out to the future." Rei continued.

"Ready everyone?" Shinji asked, as the orange reality began to slowly fade away.

"Always, dude." Touji called out.

"Like you could stop me." Asuka said after Touji, gripping his hand more firmly in hers.

"I am, Shinji. I'm here." Hikari whispered.

Rei and Lilith shared a smile, before Lilith gestured Rei to join the group. Her eyes widened in surprise and she turned to Shinji and the others to find them smiling, his and Hikari's arms open to her. As she ran to them, tears in her eyes, Asuka thought one last thing as the orange light faded.

Is this our Second chance, our chance for a new start?

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A/N: This just sorta fell from my fingers. Please Review. Minor edits, just like the previous chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**

_Pilot's Table_

By D.A.

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Title: Prepare to reset  
Prompt: Set 1 / Prompt 43 (Redo)  
Word Count: 2200+  
Rating: T  
Summary: Hikari realizes it was all a dream.

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or anything connected to it.

Notes: Part three of the "Fading Dream" arc. Yes, another PoV for the last two. lol

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Hikari, sixteen year old and recently chosen Pilot of Unit-06, walked out of the Eva Cage and followed Asuka to the briefing room. It had been another long day of synch tests, and all she wanted to do was take a shower and go home to sleep. Tomorrow they had only a half day of school, and she and Shinji had planned on going to a quick dinner, to be followed by a movie.

"You know, Hikari," Asuka called over her shoulder, "You can go home if you want. I'll just get the briefing, and tell you what you missed at school tomorrow…"

"No, that's ok, Asuka," Hikari smiled, "I need to hear it anyways, and Misato wanted to speak to me about something."

"If you say so," Asuka shrugged and laughed quietly, "Class Rep to the end, right Hikari?"

"You better believe it."

Both girls laughed, before Asuka called out a challenge and raced off down the corridor. Hikari laughed, but kept to her sedate pace. Reaching the briefing room, she found it empty.

"Hello?" she called, wondering once again if she had become lost in Nerv's many corridors and made a wrong turn while her mind had wondered.

No one answered, so she walked over to the table. Situated at each seat was a small terminal, which included a small intercomm. Tapping the comm. menu open, Hikari brought up the icon for Misato's PDA and started the call. After several rings, it clicked over to the Colonel's automated voice machine. Confused, Hikari left a short message saying she had gone to Room EC-7BR above Unit-01's Cage and found it empty, and that she was going home.

Turning around, she found herself face to face with Rei Ayanami. With a squeak of shock, Hikari jerked backwards and bumped into the edge of the table.

"Ms. Horaki, please follow me." the young girl said, turning without waiting for an answer and walking out of the room.

_That can't be real… Rei… Rei died… _Hikari took a few breaths, _But… Shinji said he had seen her shade before… maybe…_

Walking out of the room, Hikari spotted Rei at the far end of the corridor down near the Deep Lifts, the elevators that took personnel into the cleared out and rebuilt Terminal Dogma. Turning, Hikari followed the apparition.

When she entered the Deep Lift, she found the indicator for Level-EE already lit, so she pressed the close door button and rode the lift in silence. Silence which lasted only a moment before Rei was suddenly standing beside her. Managing to contain herself to simply jumping in surprise, Hikari continued to face forward and waited for the long dead Nephilim to speak.

"I am not dead."

Hikari jumped again at Rei's sudden, quiet assertion.

"But… Shinji watched you be absorbed by Lilith." Hikari spoke quietly, confused, "And then Lilith melted. She turned into LCL and was gone."

"You will see." Rei simply said, and then vanished.

Hikari huffed in impatience, wishing she had just gone home like Asuka had suggested. The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened, revealing a dimly lit waiting area.

"Is this Terminal Dogma?" Hikari asked the darkened room, and received only a faint echo in return.

Stepping into the dimly lit room, Hikari heard a voice off down one of the halls that led deeper into Terminal Dogma. Following it, she suddenly found herself in a well lit hall in front of a door marked Room 303, and she could hear a faint beeping from inside. Leaning against the door, she listened and caught a faint voice.

_Shinji?_ Hikari thought, staring at the door before putting her ear back against it.

"Hey, quit foolin' around… Asuka, wake up. This isn't funny anymore." he spoke quietly.

_Asuka! _She gasped, vaguely remembering something about how one of the last Angels had put Asuka into a temporary coma, though they hadn't known that at the time.

"Asuka, wake up! Asuka. Asuka!"

Hikari caught a faint rattle, and then quiet, tear-filled gasps.

"Help me… Asuka, please, help me. I-I need you. Asuka please help me." _Oh Shinji! If only I'd been here instead of evacuating with the others! _"Call me an idiot like you always do, just say something damn it."

"Wake up!"

Hikari gasped, jerking away from the door at the volume of Shinji's cry, and was suddenly back in the darkened corridor in Terminal Dogma. _What… Shinji? But… how…?_ Turning, Hikari caught sight of Rei further down the corridor, waving her over.

"Rei! What's going on?" she called, but was answered with another wave before the blue-haired girl vanished from sight, "Rei?"

Running to the end of the intersection, Hikari looked down both branches of the corridor, only to hear a faint footfall behind her. Spinning around, Hikari found herself face to face with a young boy she had never seen before, but knew from Shinji's descriptions of him after she returned to Tokyo-3: Kaworu Nagisa, final Angel and friend to Shinji Ikari.

"Hello Chosen Hikari. I am glad to see you have cared for Shinji. Far better than I could have."

"Nagisa!" Hikari gasped, taking a step back from the boy, "What's going on? What are you doing back in Tokyo-3?"

"What you glimpsed a moment ago was both your past, and another's past." he chuckled, "And yet this place we stand in is untrue."

"What are you talking about?" Hikari asked, and felt a faint touch on her shoulder. Turning, she found Rei standing a short distance behind her, "Rei?"

"What you saw was a glimpse of what did happen. But which is ignored and averted here." Rei said, looking past Hikari at Kaworu, "Just as he should not be here, yet was there and will be there again."

"Rei, I don't understand. What happened back there with that room?" Hikari pulled away from both Nephilim, stepping back down the corridor.

"Our time is nearly up, and you have been chosen as the first to openly know what has been occurring." Kaworu said, smiling as he leaned back against the wall.

"Do you understand?" Rei asked, "This was a dream constructed to allow the minds of the Chosen to heal, and to prepare them for the Return to the Beginning."

"What?" Hikari shook her head, "No, this isn't right. This can't be a dream."

"Whether you believe it or not means little." Kaworu's smile turned sad as he looked in Hikari's direction, "Tomorrow at noon, the dream will fade, and the others will have the memory of the dream's construction unlocked."

Hikari knew, suddenly, exactly what they had been saying, and she fell to her knees. She remembered Asuka and Shinji's heated argument inside Instrumentality, followed by her and Touji joining and offering advice and ideas. In the end, they had agreed a dream with a happy ending would give them time to heal before they collapsed Instrumentality and started over. Going back to that first day Shinji set foot in an Eva, they were going to stop Instrumentality. And she realized it had become far more than one dream. So many dreams that her head hurt trying to track them all.

"And it's time to go back now." she mumbled.

"Unfortunately, yes. The energies which held this illusion are weakening, and soon all must be reset." Rei spoke gently, glancing to Kaworu, "Only the Chosen will remember these events. The four born and chosen to Pilot Eva."

Hikari sighed, giving Rei a small smile as she stood back up. Glancing around, she noticed Kaworu was already gone and that she now stood just inside the surface hatch outside the Pilots' school.

"So I guess I'll forget all this, when you guys go back," she whispered past a fast forming lump in her throat, "Just-"

"No."

Hikari blinked at the force in Rei's voice, and turned confused, wet brown eyes on the blue-haired girl.

"No, you will not forget. You are the fourth Chosen, Hikari." Rei glanced to the floor as she spoke.

"But… You were the first one, right?" Hikari asked, "I'm the Fifth, if you don't count Nagisa…"

"No, Hikari," Rei said sadly, "I am also a Nephilim. Asuka is the First, Shinji the Second, and Touji the Third. You are the Fourth Chosen."

"What will happen to you, Rei?"

With a sad smile, Rei turned away. Before Hikari could do anything, she was suddenly in her room at home.

"Rei…" Hikari blinked the faint wetness from her eyes, and slowly turned towards her bed. "What else are you not telling me…"

Confused, saddened, and tired, Hikari dressed for bed, and went to sleep, wondering exactly what tomorrow's deadline would bring.

000

Rei glared across Instrumentality at Kaworu, though this would only be apparent to those who'd known her, and the Angel known as Tabris simply smiled back at her.

"Why did you interfere?" she quietly asked, the annoyance in her voice again obvious only to those who'd known her.

"She did not need to see the event." Kaworu sighed, "Why did you try to take her there? Do you really think throwing what we have done to the Lilim in her face would help at all?"

"Perhaps not…" Rei directed her gaze off into the depths of Instrumentality, "Am I really destined to end before I even have a real chance to live…?"

Kaworu blinked, _So that is what has bothered her for so long… _he smiled as he turned from her.

"Each of us is granted only one life to live. No more, no less." he grinned, remembering what he had read as he waited for the day Keel would release him, "Did you not read those passages?"

"The Commander considered such things irrelevant." Rei stated, "I never had a chance to acquire the book myself."

"The Lilim ignore much wisdom." Kaworu's smile turned slightly sad, "I wonder if other things apply to 'Angels' like myself."

"We are both part human, inspite of your Angl status and name. Mankind is 'blessed', but do we truly belong on earth?" Rei turned back to Kaworu.

"We are there, for some purpose. Perhaps as the old men believe, but I do not think so." Kaworu turned back to face her, "Instrumentality is a means to an end, not and end unto itself. So we set the clock back to the starting point, so they may have a second chance."

Nodding to Rei, Kaworu vanished into the sea of Instrumentality, leaving her for these last few minutes before the Chosen and all others are released to try again. Wondering, and hoping against hope, Rei soon followed him to seek out the one the Lilim had chosen to call Lilith.

000

Thinking back to the night before, Hikari wondered how the other's memories would be awakened. _Will it just hit them, or will it be more subtle…_

"Hey, Shinji? If you could have anything, what would you wish for?" Hikari asked her boyfriend, glancing at him while they sat beneath a tree in behind the school for lunch.

"Huh?" Shinji said, and winced, while Hikari giggle quietly. _Oh Shinji, _she thought.

"You heard me," Hikari gently elbowed him, smiling, doing her best to keep her sorrow from showing, "If you could have any wish, what would you wish for?"

"I-I'm not sure…What-what would you wish for Hikari?" he stammered.

Hikari hummed, a single non-committal noise, and looked across the school courtyard. She looked through the glowing noonday atmosphere to where Kensuke was busy with his ever present camcorder, taping everything Touji and Asuka were doing while everyone was eating lunch before heaing home from this half-day of school. Sometimes it seemed like Kensuke had been born with that camcorder in his hand.

"I guess…" Hikari mused, thinking back to her new, or perhaps old, memories of right before this dream began, and smiled, "I guess I'd wish for my friends to be happy."

Shinji returned her smile, and Hikari could see how glad he was, both at her answer and just being near to her. After a moment, she nudged him, arching an eyebrow. Shinji directed his gaze to his feet stretched out in front of him before he answered a moment later.

"I-I guess… I'd want the same thing. I'd want them safe and happy, with anything that could hurt them far away and long gone…" he paused, his gaze flicked farther from Hikari's face as he continued in a quieter tone, "Even if it cost me everything I have, everything I am… I'd make sure my friends are safe and happy…"

He jumped under her fingers as she lightly laid them on his arm, and gently squeezed. Turning his gaze back to Hikari's face, he found her smiling sadly as she thought once more about what Rei had told her. And how things would change when it all came together.

"I know you would. I'm glad we got this time."  
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_A/N: _This one hit me while rereading the other chapters in "Pilot's Table".  
2013/4/20 A few minor edits.


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